


Flawed Planning

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce is surprisingly bad at planning ahead, Gen, Other, Tony's gonna be so pissed about his floor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:09:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4403852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce is just trying to protect you. He wants the best for the one he loves - even if that means walking away from you.</p><p>Which it totally shouldn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flawed Planning

"I..."

You're not even sure what you're supposed to be saying right now. Obviously this is not the right time to piss him off, or else he'll be justified and both of your lives will get all sad and screwed up, but come on. Bruce is a certified genius, and THAT is his plan? You know what, screw being polite. You've got a few choice words for your boyfriend.

"Bruce Banner, do you realize how entirely stupid that plan is?" you demand. He looks taken aback.

"I'm afraid I don't," he replies. His voice isn't dangerous yet, but it's getting there. You soldier on, unafraid. 

"You want us not to see each other anymore. To protect me. To keep me safe. Right?" you say, drily. He nods. "Is this because you're too embarrassed to break up with me like a normal person?"

"No!" he says, and then says it again for good measure. "No. That's not what it is at all. If I'm being honest, I... I don't like the idea of doing this. I love you, [Y/N]. I love you so much. But this is the only way to keep you safe, and that's what matters to me."

"How about what matters to me?" you retort. "Look, Bruce, you might just be the most misguided man I've ever met. And I live in a tower with Tony Stark. Look, we're both Avengers. We're both perfectly capable of handling ourselves in dire situations. Say some asshole somehow figures out that we're madly in love, or what have you. Regardless of whether or not we're going out every Friday night, I'm still going to do anything to keep him from hurting you."

Bruce's expression softens when you say that, and he reaches out to touch your cheek, but you grab his hand midway. "I'm not finished yet, Brucie," you say, using the pet name to soften the blow a little bit. "And in the end," you continue, "so what if that asshole figures it out? We're the dynamic duo, hon. We win, we survive, we get back together in the end anyway. And besides, we are literally part of the same superhero team. We work together every single day. How effective did you think 'not seeing each other' was going to be?"

He glances at the floor. "I meant it in a less literal sense," he grumbles.

"Sure you did. Look, if you really want to break up with me... I won't deny that it's gonna kill me a little. A lot. But you do what you gotta do, Brucie."

"I don't want to break up with you!" He practically shouts the words, and you're startled. Bruce is quiet. Composed. Thoughtful. He doesn't shout things at you. 

"Look," he says. "I'm not scared of someone else using us against each other. It's me I'm worried about. It's the Other Guy. I don't want to leave you, [Y/N], I swear. But I can't stand the thought of somebody hurting you!" For a moment, you could swear you see his skin ripple green. But then he drops his head again, defeated. "I couldn't live with myself if I let somebody hurt you - least of all me," he says.

You think you have the shadow of an idea. It's possibly the worst idea you have ever had in your life. Ever. For any reason. But then again, maybe it's not. You know Bruce is scared of himself. But you're not scared of him at all. If you're right, this could be the perfect way to prove to Bruce that splitting up isn't the answer.

If you're wrong, there's a distinct possibility of you dying. But that's just a normal day on the job, right?

"You can't stand it, huh?" you ask, hands on your hips. Bruce nods vehemently. You can practically see him starting to fume.

"I bet you can just picture it," you continue, dropping your voice low. You're in Storytelling Mode. "We're all in a fight. You lose track of me for a few minutes, just a few, but when you find me again, there's blood everywhere and a guy with a knife standing over me. Who knows what he-"

Abruptly, you're cut off by a roar. You grin. You're brilliant, if brilliant is synonymous with "utterly unconcerned with your own life." But you have to do this. For you and Bruce. And your future. Together.

You sit down on the floor, not looking the Hulk directly in the eye as you do so. You cross your legs, lotus-style, hands on your knees, and close your eyes. Come what may. There's no way to defend yourself from that position, least of all against a Hulk attack.

You feel yourself moving. 'Shitshitshitshitshit,' you think. You trust Bruce. But that's really hard to remember when you're in the room with an extraordinarily angry guy who's the size of a small house. But then you realize: this isn't the "Hulk just punched me and I'm flying backwards towards my inevitable broken spinal cord visit to the hospital" kind of motion. This is the "somebody just picked me up in their hand and is moving me" kind of motion.

You open your eyes just as the Hulk deposits you safely in a chair at the edge of the room.

Only then does he punch a massive hole in the floor of the lab, accompanied by a deafening roar. You cover your ears. The Hulk slams his fist into the floor two, three, four times. And then he pauses. He turns to look at you, covering your ears but grinning widely. Apparently that's all it takes. Bruce slowly returns to his usual color and size, naked and looking extremely concerned for your safety.

You can't help it. You start giggling. And once you start, you can't stop.

"What did you do that for?" Bruce demands. But you can't take him seriously right now, and only after gasping for air can you finally get your words out.

"I told you so," you say, as smugly as you can manage while you're out of breath. "If me getting hurt is what pisses you off, it would be awfully counterproductive of the big guy to hurt me, don't you think?"

Bruce smiles: relief, surprise, love. "That was incredibly stupid of you," he says. "But I'm glad I was wrong. I wasn't exactly prepared to do the whole life-of-loneliness-and-regret thing again."

You smile back as you stand up, walking over (and avoiding the hole as you do so) to kiss him on the cheek. "No loneliness and regret here, Brucie," you tell him. "Now let's get you some clothes. We should probably find Tony. I think he's gonna want to chat with us about his floor."

**Author's Note:**

> I swear, it's like Bruce hasn't even read all the fanfiction about him.
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated, guys! I'd love to know what you liked and what I could improve on!


End file.
